UK consumer groups say 500Mbps broadband should cost no more than £30

Experts and consumer advisers say broadband customers in the United Kingdom should not be paying more than £30 a month for a 500 megabits per second connection, and that paying closer to £20 is reasonable for lower 100 megabits per second packages. The guidance, published recently by consumer advisers and a comparison service, comes with practical tips for checking whether customers are overpaying and examples of deals that fall well below the suggested caps.

The £30 figure is presented as an upper limit for 500Mbps, a speed described as sufficient for home working and streaming, while 100Mbps is cited as a lower-cost option for households with lighter usage. Advisers also recommend full fibre as the preferable technology for faster and more reliable performance, but note that availability varies by address and provider, complicating the process of switching.

A broadband comparison service said it now offers an address-based checker that only displays packages available at a user’s specific location and searches more than 300 deals from over 30 providers, including major operators and smaller independent firms. The service highlighted a full fibre promotion from a smaller...